The MINI Cooper S has just been named best hot-hatch in the annual What Car? awards. This is the third year on the trot the MCS has claimed the award, with the British publication stating, “just as brilliant as ever, the Mini is still the headline act in this categoryâ€.
That in itself, though, is not such a big surprise as the MINI has been widely praised since BMW relaunched the brand in 2001. However, what might raise a few eyebrows is the news that CleanGreenCars.co.uk has named MINI the cleanest car manufacturer. In addition to this, the Cooper S was previously named Green Sports Car by What Car? in their 2008 awards.
CleanGreenCars reached their conclusion by calculating the average CO2 emissions of each car sold during 2008 and compared the data against 2007 figures. The result being the average CO2 emissions from the MINI fleet is 137.24g/km, an improvement of almost 7%. MINI is marginally ahead of Fiat, with 137.32g/km, and next best, Peugeot with 140.16g/km.
With more frugal diesel models to be added to their range, MINI can expect their average emissions figure to lower even further.
Hot-hatch hat-trick for the “UK’s cleanest car companyâ€
- MINI Cooper S wins What Car? hot hatch award for third year running
- MINI named cleanest car manufacturer of 2008 by CleanGreenCars.co.uk
For the third year in a row, the MINI Cooper S has been named the best hot hatch on sale in the UK at the annual What Car? awards ceremony.
An unbeatable mix of brilliant performance, low running costs and high residual values are just some of the reasons for the MINI once again taking the highly-coveted gong.
In July last year, the MINI Cooper S won the ‘Green Sports Car’ category in What Car?’s Green Awards 2008. The accolade was recognition of MINI’s commitment to manufacturing frugal and fast premium small cars, with minimal cost to the environment.
The efficiency gains and CO2 emission reduction provided by standard fitment of MINIMALISM technology, which includes Auto Start/Stop, Brake Energy Regeneration and Shift Point Display, helped secure another title for the MINI Cooper S ahead of more recently launched competitor models.
Recognition of the strides MINI is making in reducing CO2 emissions across its model range was underlined in research findings published earlier this week by CleanGreenCars.co.uk
The website released figures which detailed calculations of the average CO2 emissions of each car sold during 2008, therefore reflecting improvements in the emissions of the model ranges on offer, as well as the buying pattern of the market.
The cleanest car manufacturer of 2008 was found to be MINI at 137.24 g/km*, while the industry average CO2 emission figure stood at 158.7g/km.
MINI’s average CO2 output improved by an impressive 6.8 per cent in 2008. Further improvements will be achieved across the range when the new MINI Convertible is launched on 28 March 2009, meaning CO2 emissions from a MINI will be as low as 104 g/km for the MINI Cooper D and no higher than 153 g/km for the sporty MINI Cooper S Convertible.
*According to www.cleangreencars.co.uk, the top 10 cleanest manufacturers by CO2 emissions in the UK during 2008 were:
MINI – 137.24 g/km CO2 average in 2008, 6.8% improvement
Fiat – 137.32g/km CO2 average in 2008, 3.45% improvement
Peugeot – 140.16g/km CO2 average in 2008, 4.55% improvement
Toyota – 144.01g/km CO2 average in 2008, 2.86% improvement
Citroen – 145.40g/km CO2 average in 2008, 1.80% improvement
Skoda – 148.00g/km CO2 average in 2008, 2.23% improvement
Hyundai – 148.03g/km CO2 average in 2008, 10.09% improvement
Daihatsu – 148.62g/km CO2 average in 2008 , 3.34% improvement
Renault – 151.91g/km CO2 average in 2008, 2.27% improvement
Ford – 152.34g/km CO2 average in 2008, 1.61 improvement
7 replies on “MINI’s iconic hot-hatch cleans up”
Not quite the same here as we don’t get stop/start for our petrol models – gunna miss mine though…
Yeah, that comment intrigued me a bit. I guess there is a good reason why Aus spec cars don’t have stop/start?
I like that top photo, nice.
The local “Dooper” press release mentions the inclusion of stop/start, so maybe we will see it soon on all models. Prices for the D seem to have come out today too: it’s only $700 more than a Cooper. I like it.
Yeah, the photo is great isn’t it! Don’t forget you can click on it for a 2000px super image. 😉
Where did you see the Cooper D pricing?
Guess what I did on the weekend!?!
I’d like to hear more, although, with your track record, maybe I shouldn’t, haha!
‘fess up!
it’s wow wow wow wow and a lot of wow amazing